Chinese Lunar Calendar Pregnancy

So how many of you have heard of this? The Chinese Lunar Calendar determines through a simple calculation whether your baby will be a boy or girl. Here are the steps:
1. Select your age at conception and add 9 months
2. Select the month of conception
3. See where the two intersect. Boy is blue and girl is pink.

This calender is said to be 99% accurate.

Here is the link where I found this in: Chinese Calendar

Today's Active Mother and the Baby Carrier

Today's mother is a term that's been thrown around a lot over the years but things really are different today. Today's mother is much more active and that's in part thanks to the baby carrier. Moms are seen everywhere with their infants doing all kinds of fun things. Yes there is the usual going to the grocery store, but now they are also socializing with friends at restaurants, standing in line at the DMV (saw that the other day), and going to the mall. All of these things are much more enjoyable then pushing a stroller. Sitting at home with your child is not all bad, but let's face it, we aren't getting any thinner. we have to get out there and get our exercise. There is also a certain feeling of bonding when our baby is so close to us. I know our baby likes this feeling too.

When you carry your baby, which do you prefer? One thing that I noticed about some baby slings is that the baby almost disappears in some versions. I saw one baby in a sling, and I think she may have had the baby in there wrong...but you couldn't tell a baby was in there. The sling entirely engulfed the poor infant. That's one reason why I like the baby carrier. It provides a way for the baby to comfortably view the outside world. They are able to sit upright and use the back flap as a head rest. Infants actually need that to keep their heads up! It just seems more natural.

Forward Facing Strollers Learning and Bonding

An article appeared in the New York Times last Monday about forward-facing strollers. The study of over 2700 mothers showed that parents speak to their children more often with strollers that face the baby toward the parent. As discussed in the article, studies have shown that the best time for babies to pick up language is up to age three, but forward-facing strollers seem to hinder this. You can read the full article here: New York Times

This brings up the other good point that's often mentioned with baby carriers; that there is a an increase in the level of bonding when baby faces toward you. I think most would agree that when your baby can see you look at them and talk to them, not only are they learning, they are bonding. :)